


Ari's Asagao August writing stuff

by PearOfTheStars



Category: Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club
Genre: Gen, M/M, Other, Poetry, Synesthetic poetry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-08-10 13:09:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 3,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20135968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PearOfTheStars/pseuds/PearOfTheStars
Summary: Where I'm sticking the works for the days I'm writing instead of drawing for.





	1. Day 6 - PBG's route (poem)

Memories flicker by

Dancing like feathers in the back of your mind

Does forest green mean anything to you?

It feels like ice on the back of your neck

There’s something there that you’ve forgotten, but not completely

Do band-aids on his knees mean anything to you?

The past pokes through the holes in the ticker tape

Spelling out something you can’t quite put your finger on

He’s there, does he mean anything to you?


	2. Day 8 - Jirard's route

There’s a subtle complexity to it all

The gentle mix of melted chocolate and ginger reminds you of him

He’s wonderful in an intricate way

Warmth and fire with no hint of aggression, only a blanket of comfort

Something about chocolate really keeps pulling you back in

There are little plastic kittens who never collect dust, he cares too much

Enjoy the warmth

Put goals softly to rest

Never leave an open door unexplored


	3. Day 9 - Shane (poem)

Gray (grey), like graphite on paper, or like ice frozen over asphalt

Or blue, akin to eyes, or gently drooping flowers

Or red, something like fire, he’s warm on the inside

Or yellow, he doesn’t use it enough, it’s a happy color

Or green, usually intertwined with brown, cleaning dirt out from under your nails is worth it in the end for a beautiful garden

Or pink, maybe he’ll learn to trust it again eventually


	4. Day 14 - Continue route (poem)

One’s alone, two’s a couple, three’s a trio and four’s a crowd  
It’s raucous and loud, but it’s fine, it’s fun

You’re never alone at any one time  
The room is echoing all at once

Fight valiantly, don’t play dirty  
Keep your chin up and never look back


	5. Day 21 - Hidden Block route

Intrigue!!! Blood!!! Tears and bruises!!!

There’s no time for sleep, there’s wars to win!!!

The full saying is ‘the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb’, you know

Which is ugly, if you really think about it.

But if you think about it in the way that makes it sound pretty, it means chosen family can mean more than anything

That’s nice


	6. Day 23 - coffee shop au

All Ian wanted was a low-key coffee shop, one he could furnish how he wanted and plaster with wood paneling, where he could work quietly with his boyfriend and bake pastries and get chased away from the French press by Luke when he’d already had at least three cups of their own supply.

And most of the time, that was what he got. The shop drew in mostly calm customers, people would go there to study or read, holding light, quiet conversation. There was, however, always the occasional customer Ian _really_ wished would have just gone to a Starbucks, solely because he didn’t want to deal with them. And then...

Then there were the weird ones.

“Uh, Ian?” Hana poked her head around the door frame into the back room, where Ian was on a short, Luke-issued break.

“Hmm?” Ian hummed, glancing up at his employee and good friend.

“Uhm... I think this is a consult with the manager situation. Please help,” She bit her lip, the worried look on her face causing Ian’s brows to furrow. God... Whatever poor soul was out there in front of the counter better not be harassing his staff or he was going to do something drastic.

Ian sighed, nodding and pushing himself up to stand. He brushed off the front of his apron, following Hana, who’d ducked back out into the front.

“Alright,” He grumbled. “What’s the deal out here.”

Ian immediately caught sight of a man behind the counter.

Oh... Oh god.

Ian knew a college kid when he saw one. A quick glance said that he was probably a med student, due to the textbooks under his arm proclaiming the subject. He carried, along with his books, a laptop bag and a backpack, both nearly slipping off his shoulders. His eyes were sunken and unfocused, dark bags underneath them. His hair was sticking out at wild angles, barely tamed by a beanie.

“How much to fill the largest cup you have with espresso?” The man asked.

”...What?”

“Espresso,” The man repeated. “Big cup. Please.”

Ian just blinked at him.

“You want a full cup, just of espresso?”

“Yes, that,” The man nodded. “Please.”

Ian glanced over at Hana, who still looked concerned. She shrugged at him, as if to say _see? What the hell was I supposed to do?_

“Are you sure?” Ian asked, turning his attention back to the man on the other side of the counter.

“_Yes_,” He said almost desperately.

Ian quickly did the math in his head. Their largest size was twenty ounces, espressos were only about two if they were double shot...

“That’s uh... _ten_ double shot espressos,” Ian cleared his throat. His heart hurt just thinking about it. “Hana, if you want to, uh, start on that.”

“R-really?” Hana’s deep concern only doubled. Ian shrugged at her. Her eyes flickered back and forth between her boss and the man about to keel over in front of them. She breathed a sharp sigh out through her nose, before turning around. She walked over to the espresso machine, patting its display like she felt sorry for it. Ian, meanwhile, gave his attention back to the college man.

“Go ahead and sit down,” Ian tipped his head towards the armchairs scattered around the seating area. “We’ll bring it over when it’s done.”

“Thank you,” The customer nodded tiredly, shuffling over to the armchairs. Ian watched him practically collapse into one.

“Hana,” Ian hummed. “Add a tea cake to his order, on the house.”

Ian liked to think he did that to be nice, but he really just didn’t want to be responsible for the death of a man and a cake was the least he could do to provide actual sustenance to the walking zombie of a student.


	7. Day 24 - Merfolk au

“Day one, I hate this-“

“You hate a lot of things, Ian.”

“Yeah, well, this in particular.”

“You could at least _try_ and pretend like you’re not being tortured,” Jeff chuckled, shooting Ian a quick glance in the rear-view mirror.

They had been driving for what felt like forever. So long that PBG had gotten sick of being at the wheel and had switched with Jeff.

It was spring break. Several sets of events including but not limited to missed trains, lost tickets, botched and misunderstood dates and a healthy dose of miscommunication ended in PBG and Jeff -- Ian trailing along begrudgingly -- opting to go to the coast over break instead of going home.

“I _could_,” Ian deadpanned. Jeff sighed, shaking his head and focusing on the road once more.

Ian scoffed and stopped the tape recorder, hitting rewind until the tape _clicked_ back to the beginning. He would just record over that mess of a first log attempt.

“Don’t interrupt me this time,” Ian warned. “I’m detailing my misery.”

In the passenger’s seat, Austin couldn’t help but snort.

“Are you going to be like this the whole time?”

Ian clicked record.

“Day one, I hate this...”

-

“Luke!” Jimmy called into the empty blue water around him. He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Luuuuuke!”

Jimmy sighed, bubbles swirling out of his mouth. He heard the subtle swish of a tail behind him, twisting around in time to see Caddy swimming towards him, his brows furrowed.

“He’s not over by the ship yard,” Caddy said before Jimmy even opened his mouth.

“Surely he couldn’t have gone much further,” Jimmy sighed again. He crossed his arms over his chest as he thought. “Is there anywhere else we haven’t checked?”

“Nowhere I can think of,” Caddy shook his head. “But there’s nothing we can do but keep looking, we’ll all be in trouble if we’re not back by dusk.”

Jimmy groaned, tossing his head back.

“Dammit, Luke,” He grumbled to himself.

As he stared up at the surface of the water above them, squinting at the light filtering through the waves as the sun slipped lower and lower down, he noticed a consistent set of ripples. Following the ripples back to their source, his eyes narrowed further.

A tall rock extended from the bottom of the relatively shallow water all the way up past the break of the waves, creating a plateau not too far up from the surface. This rock on its own would not have been notable if it weren’t for the dark, glimmering end of a fin swishing around idly just beside it.

“Maybe he’s gone back by now,” Caddy sighed, looking more than a little bit defeated. “We can hope, at least.”

“Actually,” Jimmy snorted. When Caddy raised an eyebrow at him he pointed a finger towards the tail he spotted. Caddy looked unimpressed.

“Seriously...?” He muttered, moving quickly up towards the surface in the direction of the tall rock, and the missing merman. Jimmy rolled his eyes, trying to find _some_ humor in the situation, before quickly following suit.

Caddy’s head was already above the water as Jimmy reached the surface. His hands were balled into tight fists at his sides under the waves. Jimmy had no doubt Luke was in for one hell of an ear-full.

”-you are royalty!” Caddy squawked just as Jimmy came up into the air, his face flushed and flustered as he railed at the obviously startled prince.

Luke was sitting on the edge of a part of the rock sticking out above the water, the end of his tail still resting over the edge. His eyes were wide, staring in shock at the guard rattling off how dangerous it was for him to be alone.

“Not to mention, so close to the shore!” Caddy exclaimed. “What were you _thinking_?”

“I-I...” Luke stammered. His eyes desperately flickered to Jimmy, as if his friend would help him conjure words to explain himself. He looked down at his lap, fidgeting with the small, rusted, partially broken telescope he held in his hands. “I’m sorry for making you worry...”

Luke shifted uncomfortably in the other two merfolk’s gaze, hiding his face bashfully.

“Whatever,” Caddy dragged a hand down his face in stifled frustration. “Just, _please_, let’s go back to the palace before all three of us wind up in trouble with the king.”

Luke nodded slowly, prompting a sigh of relief from Caddy before he ducked back below the waves.

Jimmy didn’t miss the longing glance Luke gave the shore, the foamy waves crashing against the sand. He shook his head, casting his gaze back down as he tucked his telescope into a small pouch on the sash across his chest before sliding into the water.

Jimmy couldn’t help but notice the downtrodden air Luke held, the corners of his mouth tugged down ever so slightly. Jimmy, in turn, did his best to smile.

“Come on,” Jimmy held out his hand to the prince. Luke took it gingerly, a small smile managing to grace his face. “Let’s go home.”


	8. Day 25 - soulmate au

“It’s her!” PBG said breathlessly after slamming open the door to Jeff’s room with little to no concern for a still half-asleep Ian.

“Can’t she wait until after dinner?” Ian yawned, bunching the sleeves on his club jacket up to his elbows. He brushed past PBG as he walked out the door and disappeared down the hallway, mumbling something about not saving Jeff any good food if he took too long as well as cursing the temptation of late afternoon naps.

“…Her?” Jeff said, his brow furrowing. He put down the pen he was using to scribble a rough draft of his new class schedule.

PBG nodded excitedly, a strange mix of disbelief and glee forming on his face. He stepped more into the room, closing the door behind him.

“I still don’t really believe it,” He started. He was fidgeting with his fingers, chewing on his lip, and beginning to pace back and forth -- all signs his anxiety was at a high plateau, but he continued. “At first I was like, _woah, really? Can’t be, that’s just too crazy of a coincidence_. But it’s really her, Jeff, I just know it! She looks just like how I remembered her. And she’s my Soulmate-!”

“Woah, woah, wait, _what_?” Jeff stopped the ramble mid sentence, waving his hands at PBG in a general plea to slow down.

PBG paused for a moment, blinking in realization that he hadn’t explained himself. He scoffed lightly at his own ignorance before continuing.

“It’s her,” He reiterated, his voice soft. Though this time, his gaze faded to his left hand. He gingerly held it with his right, grazing a thumb over the stark black name running down his ring finger. Jeff knew all too well it read_ ‘H. Mizuno’._

Jeff’s mouth went dry. He laughed awkwardly, making a reach for the water bottle on his writing desk.

“Is it really?” He asked, though the slight shake in his voice nearly made him cringe.

_Come on, Jeff, don’t be a dick. Let him be happy._

“Hana Mizuno,” PBG sighed wistfully. “It’s gotta be.”

_Hana? Hana…_

“Hana?” Jeff wondered out loud. He’d heard more than his fair share of stories about PBG’s old childhood friend with that name. Especially when they had first met, it was always Hana this, Hana that.

_It’s just like this one time something happened with Hana, _or_ did I ever tell you about the time Hana and I-_

_Alright, calm down now, Jeff._

“Yes!” PBG exclaimed, a bright smile splitting his face. He held up his left hand closer to the ceiling light, squinting at the block lettering like it was some rare artifact and hadn’t been tattooed onto his skin since he was fourteen. “It’s either coincidence or fate, but honestly I’ll take either. I never knew her last name until now...”

Jeff felt a whole rainbow of emotions in that particular moment, none that he could pin down. He knew he _should_ be happy for his friend, that was the one thing that stood loud and clear in his mind.

“That’s… That’s amazing, dude!” He managed, a smile plastered onto his face, though he didn’t know how long he could keep it there. “Have you talked to her yet?”

PBG made a face.

“Well,” He started, letting his arms flop down to his sides. He sighed, taking a seat on the edge of the bottom bunk. “I haven’t yet. But-!” He perked up again. “We’re in the same class! I actually think I might have freaked her out earlier… But we’ll have chances to talk! I don’t just wanna drop out of nowhere like ‘hey I have your name on my hand and you were my best friend from years ago’, y’know?”

Jeff chewed the inside of his cheek as he searched for an appropriately positive response.

“ I was thinking of asking her to the Flower Festival…” PBG said pensively.

“That’s-,” Jeff cut himself off before he could blurt out something he would regret. “…That seems like a good idea.”

“Does it?” PBG inquired, looking to Jeff for conformation.

“I-I mean,” Jeff cleared his throat with a drink from the water bottle he’d slowly been crushing in his hands. “It’s a while until the festival. You’d have time to… get to know her, I guess.”

“Yeah,” PBG nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”

He hopped up off of the bed, tugging at the hem of his hoodie and shirt to straighten them before turning to Jeff once more.

“Are you coming to dinner?”

Jeff almost got whiplash from how fast the subject changed. That was just PBG for you, though.

“I- uh,” Jeff stuttered. He was going to take longer than PBG was to sort through this new information. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

PBG raised an eyebrow and Jeff awkwardly gestured to his messy, unfinished schedule.

“I just gotta finish this one thing.”

PBG shrugged, marching to the door with a simple _‘suit yourself’._

“See you later, dude!”

“Yeah... See you.”

Once the door clicked shut behind him, Jeff let out a sigh heavy enough to crush himself.

He groaned, rubbing at his eyes in a futile attempt at clearing his head.

Planner be damned and forgotten. The slowly fading fuzzy feeling highlighting a familiar name across his hip bone was more distracting than ever and it would only be getting worse.


	9. Day 28 - hungergames au

Austin hated the silence. It was forced, eerie, cold...

He side-eyed one of the Peacekeepers; face blank, armor polished white, silently enforcing the tyranny. Austin sighed, turning his attention back to the stage.

A woman with red hair walked out onto the stage, her heels  _ clack, clack, clacking _ along in the oppressive silence. She dressed like people from the Capitol always did; like their life was a show being put on for the lower-class crowd. Her  _ costume _ was a disdainfully shaded yellow blazer, along with a boxy, pleated skirt in the same color, flowing down to touch the floor of the stage. Her hair was pulled up into the shape of a bow, giving her the overall appearance of a doll a child had dressed up.

She strode to the lone microphone, tapping it gently once she was right up on it. There was a soft muffle of feedback through the speakers, the only sound other than quiet breathing, stifled with anticipation and fear.

Next to Austin, McJones coughed into his wrist. It was a shaky, raw cough, the scratch in his throat making Austin cringe outwardly. His brother had been sick for weeks, and it had only been getting worse... What a time to be sick, huh? During the Reaping...

It was just the two of them, taking care of each other. And Jeff, of course. He was close enough to be called family by that point.

Austin searched for him in the crowd. Luckily he was tall, and F and H were near each other alphabetically, so they weren’t too far apart in the enforced lines. He caught sight of Jeff, looking nervously forward, up at the woman on the stage.

“Ahem,” The woman cleared her throat, the microphone picking up the gentle noise. Austin turned away from Jeff, fixing his eyes back on the disgusting shade of yellow.

“Good morning, District Twelve!” Her voice boomed through the speakers. Her smile was broad and plastic. “ Welcome! Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor! ”

There was nothing but silence in the crowd. Her smile never wavered, even as she shifted in her obviously uncomfortable shoes, flattening her skirt down her legs with her hands. 

“Now, before we begin, we have a special message brought to you all the way from the Capitol! ”

She cheered, her bright face turning up to the massive screen behind her.

Austin grimaced as the short film played, a reminder to all of them why it was exactly they stood in rows, allowing lavish dolls from the capitol to take their children and throw them in an arena of death. Austin didn’t need the reminder... He carefully averted his eyes as the massacre of District Thirteen was played out before them.

The video wound to a close, the stony face of the highest power in the Capitol ending it with a bitter taste.

“I just love that!” Mai giggled. “Now, as per usual, ladies first!”

She walked over to a deep, glass bowl, filled to the brim with little, folded slips of paper. With another plastic smile, she reached her hand in, plucking a slip from the pile.

She strode back to the microphone, unfolding the piece of paper.

“Hana Mizuno,” Mai chirped. A dim murmur rushed through the crowd.

“Come on up to the stage, sweetheart,” Mai cooed. Austin looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of the poor girl. He found her as a shrill scream rang through the still air.

A small girl --she couldn’t have been older than Austin, and was  _ definitely _ shorter-- was ripped out of the rows of people. A man tried to reach out for her, Hana sobbed and reached back for him, but the guard that had a firm grip on the girl’s arm was already dragging her down the isle up towards the stage.

Austin swallowed thickly, biting the inside of his cheek. He didn’t know her personally; he’d definitely seen her around, though. He was pretty sure her father ran the bakery. Poor girl...

Austin shuddered, looking down at his shoes, unable to watch as Hana was pulled along, tears streaming down her face, her limbs stiff in terror. She got walked up to the stage, pushed to stand next to Mai. The Capitol representative smiled widely at her, gently touching her shoulder. Hana didn’t move an inch, frozen in place.

“Give a hand to our first tribute!” Mai flourished her hands at Hana. Stiff clapping echoed quietly in the space.

“Now, for the boys!”

Mai walked over to another glass bowl, on the opposite end of the stage. She, again, dipped her hand in, picking up a piece of paper, before making her way back to the mic.

She cleared her throat, unfolding the note.

“Stewart Hargrave,” She announced.

Silence.

Austin didn’t even register it, at first. He didn’t hear it right over the rush of blood in his ears. He barely noticed a Peacekeeper brushing roughly past him, grabbing his brother with a firm grip on his arm and pulling him out into the aisle.

No...  _ God, fuck, no. _

_ _

“McJones!”

“Austin,” Stewart said coldly, turning his head to fix his brother with a stern look. “Stay where you are.”

“N-no,” Austin felt panic rising in his throat. God... he couldn’t lose his brother. He was so,  _ so _ sick. Even if he wasn’t currently coughing out his lungs, he abso- _ fucking- _ lutely wasn’t built for a fight.

Austin’s eyes flickered around in a panic. He caught Jeff’s eyes, looking at them, wide in shock and terror. He was going to regret this... But...

“I volunteer!” Austin cried.


End file.
